World War One By Julia Catherine Stimson

Throughout World War I, over 22,000 American women volunteered to join the army as volunteer nurses. Women in the 1910’s were motivated to join the war force for varying reasons: a sense of civic duty, a maternal instinct, and convincing propaganda targeted at women. Whilst under a veil of nationalism and pride these volunteers unknowingly signed up to have their innocence, humanity, and naivety stripped from them. Although the horrors of war were felt by the American soldiers fighting in World War I face-to-face, volunteer nurses were left to cope with the aftermath of battles, sights that they were unprepared to face. The American volunteer nurses and their experiences overseas throughout the duration World War I are a testament to the fact

Stimson offers a first-hand account of the atrocious and brutish nature of war through her letters which documented her transition from training nurses to serving wounded soldiers. Many wartime nurses who had not yet seen the horrors of war in any capacity had perceptions of war that were purely anecdotal or based on stories they had heard. On May 4, 1917, Stimson wrote a letter to her parents to alert them that she had been told to prepare to serve in a hospital in France. She expresses her eager readiness and willingness to take on this challenge and opportunity to go overseas: “But it is all wonderful beyond belief. I just wish I had the words to express what I think about this opportunity” (Stimson). Due to propaganda from the American government, censorship, and a lack of media representation of war, civilians without direct contact to soldiers were often left with an unrealistic and ultranationalist view of war. One must also consider that up until 1917, the last war fought in by American soldiers was the Spanish-American War which ended 15 years prior. 3,000 American soldiers died in the Spanish-American War which pales in comparison to the 116,516 American soldiers killed in World War I. World War I was the biggest war that the world had

Her once persistent optimism and hope for the future is replaced by nihilism and by a loss in faith for humanity due to the tragic hospital conditions. The emotional turmoil and stress put on wartime volunteer nurses by the volume of soldiers who were far beyond saving was irreversible and long-lasting. In her second letter, written on July 25, 1917, she describes this phenomenon by saying, “it is only numbers that would give you any idea at all of what we have been doing” (Stimson), referring to the innumerable amounts of wounded bodies. The greatest example of the effects of war on Stimson can be seen halfway through the same letter when she refers to the conditions in her hospital and writes, “Human life seems so insignificant, and individuals are so unimportant” (Stimson). Stimson’s letters are a testament to the fact that the suffering volunteer nurses faced was only amplified by a lack of preparation for the horrors of war and by poor hospital conditions. On the other hand, soldiers going to fight overseas were aware of the unavoidable tragedy and death they would have to